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Although the real break-through for Gangstagrass happened on July 8, 2010, Gangstagrass producer Rench and rapper T.O.N.E.Z were nominated for an Emmy in the category of Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for "Long Hard Times to Come”, they initially formed in 2006 and have been evolving and changing ever since. The band's song "Long Hard Times to Come", was selected to be the opening theme song of the acclaimed television show Justified on FX in early 2010.

There is no distinct category or genre to put this band into; how do you define hip-hop/rap meets bluegrass. Truly a trailblazer, I had the opportunity to catch up with Rench, the producer as well as vocalist/guitarist in Gangstagrass at his home in New York.

The thing about a lunch interview with Lynx, founder of Random Order, is that the eating part is played down in favour of flowing conversation. Full of ideas, plans, history, fun and the power of dancing, and somewhat obliquely, the legacy of Random Order. The latter is on the table as Lynx begins a new life as Random Order the solo performer.

“It was a natural progression. From early on in the band’s life I’ve been writing all the albums and working in the studio. I’d started focusing on electronic production with the Random Order sound and working more on remixes. I thought about putting out new material as Lynx the solo act but Random Order has an established name and following.”

One of the things you can’t buy is experience, the only currency for that is time-in. Peter Anderson has the talent and drive and most certainly has the experience.

An active musician since the late 60’s, Peter Anderson’s songs are rich in honesty and uplifting messages. The Alabama-born California resident has his roots in country and rock ‘n’ roll and has just released a new album, ‘Just In Time’ just in time for the exciting new opportunities coming his way. With songs on this new CD certain to gain global airplay, Anderson is gearing up for some groundbreaking live performances.

Peter Anderson has been selected to participate in the inaugural Cashbox Canada singer/songwriter Showcase in Cannes, France at MIDEM this year. This new musical initiative at the annual gathering of music industry who’s who will give the singer/songwriter to reach a global audience. MIDEM was started in 1967 and is known as deal-making opportunity of the year, and an Official Showcase at MIDEM is certainly a groundbreaker for any artist.

ole label group is pleased to announce that Canadian rock legend Kim Mitchell will release a re-recorded version of the Max Webster hit, “Diamonds Diamonds”, featuring Barenaked Ladies on February 22, 2019. Produced by Greg Wells (Keith Urban, Twenty-One Pilots, Adele), the Max Webster gem co-written by Kim Mitchell and his writing partner Pye Dubois, marks Mitchell’s highly anticipated first solo release in six years.

“After hearing audiences sing this song louder than the band on many nights, we decided to give a nod to this classic without trying to make it a period piece. Simply, let's record it more as we play it now," said Kim Mitchell. "Working with Barenaked Ladies made the session more vibed and fun than we could have imagined. She STILL takes more whiskey than I wine!"

On February 1, 1969, The Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart was topped by an astonishing new sound From Pop band TOMMY JAMES AND THE SHONDELLS.

CRYSTAL BLUE PERSUASION, CRIMSON & CLOVER, MONY MONY, I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW, HANKY PANKY, DRAGGIN' THE LINE, SWEET CHERRY WINE, THREE TIMES IN LOVE And MIRAGE are just a few of the many hits from TOMMY JAMES, Singer, Songwriter And Producer.....23 GOLD SINGLES, 9 PLATINUM ALBUMS And Over 100 MILLION RECORDS SOLD WORLDWIDE and 32 BILLBOARD HOT 100 CHART HITS!

Many artists have and continue to cover his songs...PRINCE, BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, BILLY IDOL, JOAN JETT, KELLY CLARKSON, DOLLY PARTON, CARLOS SANTANA, CHER, TOM JONES, and even THE BOSTON POPS. The music of Tommy James is heard in over 42 films to date, TV shows such as BREAKING BAD, CRIMINAL MINDS, THE SIMPSONS, THE GOLDBERGS and AQUARIUS have featured his music as well as numerous commercials.

A few years ago, when Spirit of the West’s singer and main song co-writer John Mann was diagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer’s, a ripple went through the fairly close-knit Canadian music community. While it was clear that performing music would recede from John’s personal endeavors over time, his love of music has not diminished.

This concert is a benefit for the Toronto Alzheimer’s Association Music Project, which provides iPods free of charge to people living with dementia. Loaded with music from each patient’s “soundtrack”, they are able to listen to music connected to meaningful experiences over their life.

Imagine you lose something very near and dear to you. You’re told that the article has been destroyed. You go through all the stages of loss; grief, questioning what happened and finally acceptance that it’s gone, never to be seen again only to suddenly have it reappear some forty years later.

That’s exactly what happened to blues artist and founding member of April Wine, Myles Goodwyn.

If you take six of the finest musicians in the country and team them up with a crackerjack female singer who perform with authority and add western swing music to the mix what do you have? The Western Swing Authority of course! Western swing music is “a mix of rural, cowboy, polka, folk, Dixieland jazz and blues mixed with swing; and played by a hot string band often augmented with drums, saxophones, pianos and, notably, the steel guitar. The electrically amplified stringed instruments, especially the steel guitar, give the music a distinctive sound.

Editor's Note: Cashbox Canada is on holiday! We will return on January 11, 2019, with more stories, more reviews and more personal interviews for you to enjoy. Happy New Year to all of you!

I was recently asked at an industry by an industry colleague how I keep Cashbox Canada going. Considering we have reached a ten-year mark in publishing, it is actually remarkable.

We do work hard to have advertising carry the financial burden to run a magazine while striving to be supportive of the music and the artists. Sometimes a label, artist or publicity person doesn’t understand that we have to pick our stories carefully and although it is not contingent on ad buys, obviously personal interviews do require paying a journalist for their time and efforts.

The same goes for our cover stories-there are only 51 covers a year so we choose carefully and like to make sure we give the established artists their due and perhaps be lucky enough to choose the future stars just before they break as hit artists.

They say that music is the language of the soul, and nothing could be truer for this Crockpop (country/rock/pop) band from south of Sweden. Composed of a dynamic duo together with inspirational musicians and skillful performers, Bara Jonson and Free are a band like no other. From live gigs to streaming sessions and more, they continue to touch fans around the world with their blend of heartfelt lyrics, strong music, and soulful messages.

The duo has played at most of southern Sweden's festivals and also had tours in Denmark, Germany and Holland.

Bara Jonson and Free recently attended Live at Heart Newfoundland and came back from the island of the rock inspired by the welcoming community of Burin Peninsula NL. Performing at the Live at Heart in Örebro, Sweden earlier this year Bara Jonson and Free received an invitation from organizer Evan Murray to be one of only 30 acts to participate at Live At Heart Newfoundland, Marystown on the Burin Peninsula, this past October. It was to be an appearance that inspired them on many levels, and it touched the hearts of all who attended.

Preparations for the Christmas season means a lot of hustle & bustle. It’s especially true for teenagers Emily & Thomas Conway, the duo known as CONWAY.

A jam-packed schedule over the past month saw them perform at the iconic St. John’s pub, O’Reilly’s, the province’s cultural hotbed The Rooms, and this Christmas season, their first ever television special will air.

The Mount Pearl duo just recently taped the holiday special, which will be broadcast on NTV, Newfoundland & Labrador’s independent broadcaster, province-wide, and the station is also available on many cable systems across the country, as well as internationally in Bermuda.

On November 22, 2018, Cashbox Magazine Canada presented another in its series of Cashbox Canada Legacy Awards in Toronto to a Canadian music industry builder and educator, John Harris. The presentation ceremony took place at Harris Institute in Toronto, a music industry school started by Harris in 1989.

The evening was attended by many of John’s contemporaries and fellow music industry icons and was highlighted by a live solo performance by Lisa Hartt, whom John managed. Hartt performed her hit ‘Old Time Movie’ and a moving version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Tower of Song’, a perfect fit for John and the evening.

Cashbox CEO/Editor in Chief Sandy Graham presented the award to an emotional Harris who gave a heartfelt acceptance speech where he gave thanks to all who helped him on his journey with a special thanks to “two people who are unable to attend because of the distance, and it’s a really far distance, so thanks Mom and Dad who are up there” as he pointed up to heaven.

Vital Idol: Revitalized, the new Billy Idol remix album inspired by his 1980's remix collection, Vital Idol, is now available on CD, digital and 2LP 180-gram black vinyl in addition to a limited edition, red/blue smoke swirl viny variant by Capitol/UMe. The Punk And Rock Icon Continues To Break New Sonic Ground With Help From Rac, Tropkillaz, Moby, The Crystal Method And More.

The album garnered Idol his first appearance on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Chart in 25 years, when Vital Idol: Revitalized debuted in the Top 10.

More than 30 years after his groundbreaking Vital Idol compilation cemented the vibrancy of the dance-rock remix genre in the second half of the 1980's, Idol's Revitalized collection features 11 brand-new remixes of his most classic and enduring hits. Lending their hands to the Revitalized proceedings are electronic dance luminaries Moby, The Crystal Method and Paul Oakenfold as well as current innovators including RAC, Tropkillaz, Shiba San, Juan Maclean , and CRAY.

WATCH TWO VIDEOS FROM THE ALBUM, EACH CONTAINING NEWLY REMIXED FOOTAGE FROM THE ORlGINAL 1980s MUSIC VIDEOS:

Ever hear of Bob Livingston? No? Yeah. Wait! I think so. It’s the degrees of separation that once brought to your attention bring Bob Livingston into clear focus. With names like Michael Martin Murphy, Jerry Jeff Walker, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Gary P. Nunn as associates on his resume, all Texas music legends, his place in Americana music history is cemented. And all of the aforementioned are proud to include Bob Livingston in their resumes. In fact, it was Bob who put the Wylie in Ray Wylie Hubbard and the P in Gary P Nunn. “ At the end of a Jerry Jeff Walker recording, I said ‘Ray Wylie Hubbard and Gary P Nunn’. Now Wylie was Ray’s middle name and Gary’s was Phillip hence the P, but from that moment on that was their identities.” Also, it was Bob who was responsible for Jerry Jeff recording Ray’s 'Redneck Mother'. Jerry Jeff broke a string while playing with Bob at the Broken Spoke and said to Bob ‘ sing them a song Bob’ and Bob sang Redneck Mother that he’d heard when Ray wrote it in Red River, New Mexico.

RCA/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, has released Elvis Presley - 'Where No One Stands Alone, a new Elvis album celebrating the artist's everlasting love of gospel music.

Produced by Joel Weinshanker, Lisa Marie Presley and Andy Childs, Elvis Presley – ‘Where No One Stands Alone’ introduces newly-recorded instrumentation and backing vocal contributions from music legends who'd performed on-stage and/or in-the-studio with Elvis. It also includes a re-imagined duet with Elvis and his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, on the album’s title track and spiritual touchstone.

"It was a very powerful and moving experience to sing with my father," said Lisa Marie, "The lyrics speak to me and touch my soul. I’m certain that the lyrics spoke to my father in much the same way."

Following in the musical footsteps of the recent success of Live at Heart Sweden, Canada is about the embrace another version of this successful festival, with the inaugural event, Live at Heart Newfoundland.

Live at Heart Sweden began in 2010 when founders Anders Damberg and Johannes Nilsson wanted to create a space for local, unsigned bands to play for larger audiences. In its first year, Live at Heart featured 102 different acts and hosted gigs on 10 different venues around Örebro, Sweden. Over the years, Live at Heart has evolved into a creative industry conference and showcase festival – attended by hundreds of artists, filmmakers and creative professionals from all over the world. The event has grown into one of the biggest of its kind in all of Scandinavia and is considered one of the best festivals in the world. The 2018 version showcased more than 200 music acts and independent film screenings in the heart of Örebro.

If you are a Montrealer, or even just worked in the entertainment business in that glorious city, then the name Sheldon Kagan is one you will instantly recognize.

For 50 years plus, Kagan was known as one of Montreal’s leading event producers and entrepreneurs. From starting out as a 16-year-old kid doing high school DJ gigs to creating a niche for jazz shows to come through the city, to booking the likes of local bands to legendary greats, producing thousands of productions and taking the chances it takes to book live entertainment.

At his Caesar’s Palace Coliseum concert on Friday, Sept 7, Larry Gowan was presented with a Certified Canadian Platinum Single award for a combined 80,000 physical, digital and stream equivalent units of his song “A Criminal Mind.”

Gowan was surprised by his label Linus Entertainment with the award, just as his band left the stage leaving him to perform the song solo. While the band and stage managers were in on the plot, Larry was genuinely surprised and delighted at the presentation. “It’s amazing to me because I didn’t think anyone bought records anymore!” he said upon returning for an encore. Linus Entertainment represents several Gowan albums including Strange Animal, Great Dirty World (which includes the song Moonlight Desires), and The Good Catches Up.

Don McLean is one of those rare characters, a true US music icon with a song-writing knack and a melodic thrust few can ever reach, let alone match. With a new album just out, ‘Botanical Gardens,’ he is relaxed, assured and happy to look back at his fifty years on the road, a modern troubadour who still loves the buzz of live performance.

‘I love being out there, on-stage, never knowing what might happen. I’m flying and I only hope everybody gets it and it goes well and is not a disaster. I don’t wear a harness. I’m like a wild horse,’ he says with evident relish.

When one of the world’s most accomplished, admired and revered guitarists tells you that how he plays is: “………nothing special. It’s just music. All music’s the same, all that folk stuff. You just play what you know. You listen to the other guys and try to compliment them,” you know you’re dealing with a master of understatement. And with Ry Cooder, the humility continues in a similar vein as he looks back over half a century at the absolute peak of musical genius.

From his sideman work with the Rolling Stones – Cooder’s the stinging slide-picker on ‘Sister Morphine’ on the ‘Sticky Fingers’ album – in the 1960s to his remarkable emergence as a movie music score writer twenty years later, Cooder has always been a guy with a passion for music, performance and unexpected twists and turns. Always ready to play out his socio-political beliefs and hopes in musical form, Cooder never shuns controversy when he feels the time is right, or there’s a need to push back against convention or authority.